The present invention relates to safety ski bindings including an indicator for displaying the setting of an adjustable operating characteristic such as release force.
Known safety ski bindings include at least one grasping piece such as a heel piece or toe piece for grasping a portion of a ski boot. Each grasping piece includes a stationary part fixed to a ski and a pivoting part connected by an axle to the stationary part. Some of these heel and toe pieces include an indicator, visible through a window in the pivoting part and having an adjacent scale, to indicate the setting of an adjustable operating characteristic, such as release force, for the heel or toe piece. Generally, the setting is adjustable by the turning of a screw which engages and compresses or releases the compression of a spring. Turning the screw also causes movement of the indicator relative to the scale. In these known heel and toe pieces, the indicator is fixed to the stationary part and can be accurately read only when the heel or toe piece is latched. These known indicators must also be adjusted to compensate for a change from one ski boot to another having a different sole thickness. These indicating bindings also require a substantial force to lock them. Therefore they are not convenient to latch when the ski is resting on deep snow.
It is desirable to provide an indicator which remains in the window adjacent to the scale in the heel or toe piece, which does not require adjustment to accommodate different ski boot sole thicknesses and which is easy to latch.